Akhil Vaani | India’s Airpocalypse: A Future We Can’t Afford

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Last Updated:March 01, 2025, 13:20 IST

India's air pollution crisis is worsening. Delhi now tops the list of the world's most polluted cities, and India accounts for a staggering 94 of the top 100. This dire situation demands immediate action

In 2024, India ranked third globally among the most polluted countries. (Image: PTI)

Only four months ago, I wrote two pieces on air pollution—both ambient and indoor—mercilessly killing Bharatiyas in hordes. These articles were published in the 31 October 2024 and 12 November 2024 editions of News18.

Why am I so obsessed with this subject, about which no one in the country seems to care, that I am writing a third piece—and that too so soon? The reasons are both temporal and existential.

To offer a comprehensive view of air pollution, the report relies on both real-time and historical data from AQI. As the most detailed report on the subject, it analyses AQI and PM2.5 levels across 5,750 cities in 140 countries and regions. The data for this report was collected from more than 15,432 air quality monitoring stations operated by governmental bodies, research institutions, universities, and other organisations.

WHITHER BHARAT

This leads to the existential question- “When it comes to the most polluted countries in the world, where does Bharat—the most populous country, soon to be the third-largest economy by GDP, and aspiring to be a developed nation by 2027—stand?

It must be noted that Bharat’s annual ranking among the most polluted countries has been dismal for many years. However, with all the talk of combating air pollution in recent years, citizens had a legitimate hope for at least some improvement this year.

But that was not to be!

The sombre findings of the report reveal that among the world’s leading nations, Bharat remains the most polluted. But where does it stand in comparison to the 140 countries whose air pollution data has been collected and analysed by IQAir?

The short answer—as bad as it gets.

In 2024, India ranked third globally among the most polluted countries. The only consolation for us Bharatiyas is that citizens of Bangladesh (ranked 1st) and Pakistan (ranked 2nd) inhale even more polluted air than we do.

CHINA GETS ITS ACT TOGETHER

China’s ranking has marginally deteriorated, moving from 17th in 2023 to 13th in 2024 among the most polluted countries. Nevertheless, our Himalayan neighbour—which until recently was the poster boy of global air pollution—has substantially improved its air quality. I will elaborate on this later when I examine the world’s most polluted cities.

LESSONS FROM SMALLER NEIGHBOURS

It is instructive to note that even smaller neighbouring countries have performed better than Bharat. Nepal ranks 5th, Myanmar 20th, and the island nation of Sri Lanka stands at 31st. Geographical factors aside, Bharat has some lessons worth learning from its smaller neighbours.

LESSONS FROM THE TEN BEST

The 10 least polluted countries in the world are largely as expected, with the list including Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, and Brunei, among others. However, it also features Australia and the developing country Malaysia, making it worth exploring what these two nations—particularly Malaysia—are doing better.

NATIONAL CLEAN AIR PROGRAMME

In 2023, IQAir’s list of the 100 most polluted cities included 83 Indian cities. How do they fare this year? I seek this answer with reference to the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)—launched by the Indian government to combat air pollution nationwide. The programme initially aimed to reduce particulate matter (PM) concentrations by 20–30 per cent by 2024–25 but was recently revised to target a 40 per cent reduction by 2025–26 across 131 designated “non-attainment cities"—those where air pollution levels exceeded national standards.

The NCAP entails a comprehensive strategy, incorporating emission control measures for vehicles, industries, and power plants, promoting renewable energy, running awareness campaigns, and enhancing air quality monitoring.

CAT OUT OF THE BAG

Despite the Government of India’s efforts to control air pollution, the 2024 report paints a bleak picture. Here are the key takeaways:

Delhi, the Most Polluted City: In 2024, Delhi emerged as the most polluted city in the world, with an annual AQI average of 169 in the “Unhealthy" category. Only two months of the year recorded “Moderate" AQI levels, while the rest of the year saw severe pollution. The period from November 2024 to January 2025 was the worst, with the AQI remaining in the “Hazardous" category for 43 days. Delhi set a new record in November 2024, becoming the most polluted city in the past four years, with an abnormally high AQI of 795 in the “Hazardous" category. Moreover, in 2024, Delhi’s PM2.5 concentration was equivalent to every citizen inhaling air pollution equal to 1,576 cigarettes. This means that the challenges before Rekha Gupta, the new Chief Minister of Delhi, are immense. The government’s NCAP or Supreme Court-mandated GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan) are clearly no longer even a partial solution.
Top 10 Most Polluted Cities – All in Bharat: Shockingly, all the top ten (in fact, the top twelve) most polluted cities in the world are in Bharat. This clearly indicates that the money spent on combating pollution is failing to yield results.
45 of the Top 50 Most Polluted Cities Are in India: If the above finding is not bad enough, widening the scope presents an even bleaker picture. Forty-five of the top fifty most polluted cities are in India. Other cities that complete the list are Dhaka, Bangladesh (rank 13); Peshawar, Pakistan (rank 18); Tachov, Czechia (rank 36); Kashgar, China (rank 38); and Lahore, Pakistan (39). It is worth noting that China has only one city, Kashgar, in the top 50, ranked 38th.
Bharat Accounts for 94 of the Top 100 Most Polluted Cities: I had hoped that as the list expanded, more cities from different countries would appear. That was not to be!

My optimism vanished into thin air. While 83 Bharatiya cities made the list in 2023, this number has worsened in 2024, with 94 cities from Bharat now featuring in the top 100 most polluted cities worldwide. Between 51st and 100th place, there is only one non-Indian city—Aksu, China, at rank 99.

THE CHINDIA COMPARISON

Readers have seen above that among the world’s 100 most polluted cities, 94 are from Bharat, while only two are from China—Kashgar at 38th place and Aksu at 99th place. To have a broader CHINDIA comparison, I examined the top 150 most polluted cities in the world, and the findings are striking: Bharat (128 cities) and China (13 cities).

Who would believe that barely a decade ago, air pollution in Chinese cities was as severe a problem as it is in Bharat today—if not worse?

WHAT BHARAT IS WAITING FOR

The causes and consequences of air pollution are well-documented, as are the solutions. The key takeaway from the CHINDIA comparison is that it is possible to control air pollution, both ambient and indoor. However, the real tragedy is that policymakers and authorities remain indifferent, even as conditions on the ground deteriorate rapidly.

According to estimates from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Bharat requires at least 4,000 continuous air pollution monitoring stations—2,800 in urban areas and 1,200 in rural areas—to effectively track air quality. This estimate is based on population density and activity levels, but it is already outdated, as it relies on 2011 census data.

Yet, how many ambient air quality monitoring stations does Bharat have? No more than 1,300, according to the latest estimates. Worse still, most cities and towns outside metropolitan areas have just one or two stations, many of which are non-functional for long periods. Meanwhile, rural Bharat is virtually absent from the air quality monitoring map.

LETHAL CONSEQUENCES

Make no mistake—“death in the air" is the second biggest killer after high blood pressure. The WHO estimated in 2021 that more than 8 million people die annually due to air pollution. A significant proportion of air pollution-related morbidity and mortality is borne by India.

The elderly, women, the sick, children, and the poor suffer the most in Bharat due to rapidly worsening air pollution, while governments continue to parrot the claim that there is no direct causal relationship between air pollution and death.

QUANTIFYING THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE

All of India’s 1.4 billion people (100 per cent of the population) are exposed to unhealthy levels of ambient PM2.5—the most harmful pollutant—emanating from multiple sources. Although I have previously written about the devastating collateral damage caused by severe air pollution gripping Bharatiyas, here is a concise yet damning account once again:

Health Consequences

It is estimated that 11.5 per cent of the total DALYs (Disability-Adjusted Life Years) in India in 2019 were attributable to air pollution. Of these, 39.5 per cent were linked to lung diseases, including COPD (22.7 per cent), lower respiratory infections (15.5 per cent), and lung cancer (1.3 per cent). The remaining DALYs were attributed to ischaemic heart disease (24.9 per cent), stroke (13.7 per cent), diabetes (5.5 per cent), neonatal disorders (14.5 per cent), and cataracts (1.5 per cent). Among total deaths caused by air pollution in India in 2019, the largest proportions were due to COPD (32.5 per cent) and ischaemic heart disease (29.2 per cent), followed by stroke (16.2 per cent) and lower respiratory infections (11.2 per cent).

Mortality Consequences

A 2024 study published in The Lancet: Planetary Health reports that long-term exposure to air pollution led to an increase of 1.5 million deaths per year in India compared to a scenario where the country met the World Health Organization’s recommended safe exposure levels. The study, conducted over a decade (2009–19), linked 16 million deaths to air pollution. Unlike previous research, this study covered all of India and used a new PM2.5 model for every 1×1 km of the country.

Economic Consequences

Beyond health and mortality, the economic toll of air pollution is severe. According to the World Bank (2024), the health impacts of pollution impose a significant cost on the economy. In 2019, lost output from premature deaths and morbidity due to air pollution resulted in economic losses of US$28.8 billion (21.4–37.4 billion) and $8 billion (5.9–10.3 billion), respectively. The total loss of $36.8 billion (27.4–47.7 billion) amounted to 1.36 per cent of India’s GDP. Additionally, a 2024 report by global consultancy firm Dalberg concluded that in 2019, air pollution cost Indian businesses $95 billion due to “reduced productivity, work absences, and premature death"—a sum nearly three per cent of India’s budget and roughly twice its annual public health expenditure.